Mechanism for synchronizing the feeding and cutting of sheet material



Jan. 6, 1931. E. s. PETERSEN MECHANISM FOR SYNCHRONIZING THE FEEDING AND CUTTING OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec.

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Jan. 6, 1931. E. S/PETERSEN MECHANISM FOR SYNCHRONIZING THE FEEDING AND CUTTING OF SHEET MATERIAL 7 Filed Dec. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 7 [HZ/Z I ,H l I I J d (la/ M.

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EDWIN S. PETERSEN, CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE PATENT AND LICENSING CORPORATION, OF BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS,A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS MECHANISM FOR SYNCHRONIZING THE EEEDIN G AND CUTTING OF SHEET MATERIAL Application filed December 1, i927. Serial No. 237,110.

10 are successively cut from an advancing sheet of roofing material. For various reasons, it is desirable in the formation of strip shingles which are provided with slots defining shingle-simulating tabs, to form such slots in .the sheet of roofing material before cutting the sheet into strip shingles. For example, if the slots are cut in the raw felt before the felt is saturated with asphalt or other waterproofing material, the portions thus cut from manufacture of strip shingles, one of which being the fact that during the operations of saturating, coating and cooling the sheet, local expansion or contraction is liable to occur and no way has yet been discovered to control such aberrations in the length of thesheet. As a result of this behavoir of the sheet, the trans verse rows of slo'tsnin a sheetvWhich may o have beena'ccurately spaced in the raw an, 40

are very liable to be unevenly spaced longitudinal'ly of the sheet by the time the sheet has'reached the point where it is ready for cutting up into strip shingles.- As these, er-

, rorjsare often cumulative for considerable stretches of the sheet, it is obvious thajtwithout compensating mechanism the cutter/will sooner-or later fail to strike the sheet on the desired "transverse? lines I which are I either across theends' or 'middles of the transverse 60- rows of slots'according to the arrangement the sheet may be returned to the beater, thus of the strip shingles in the sheet. The present invention relates to means for synchronizing the feeding and cutting of the sheet so that in case of expansion or contraction of the sheet during its treatment to change it from raw felt into finished roofing, the rate of feed or the rate of cutting will be automatically adjusted so that the cuts will come in their proper relation to the slots in the sheet. In accomplishing this result, I connect the feed rolls and cutter With a common drive, one of these being connected to the drive through a planetary gear transmission, a member of which is held for adjusting motion by which the relation between the feed rolls or cutter and the drive can be adjusted so that the cutter chops the sheet in accordance with the pattern of slots therein. The adjusting motion in the transmission gearing may be produced by hand, or, as shown on the drawing, by a motor, the motor being preferably controlled by a commutator associated with thec'utter and a make-and-break device responsive to the pattern of the sheet.

F or a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following,

description and to the drawings, of which,- F igure 1 is a diagrammatic representation in side elevation of mechanism embodying the invention. 7

Figure 2 is an end elevation of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a wiring diagram of the electrical connections employed with the mechanism. i

Figure 4 shows in perspective some of the elements indicated in Figure 3. v i Figure 5, is anelevation,partly in section, of' a portion of the .appar atus showing the planetary transmission drive and means for, adjusting it. j Figure 6 is a slightlyfmodified form of anembodimentoftheinvention. c Referring to: the drawings in detail, a sheet of finished roofing, preferably with sue. cessi'vexseries of transverse slots, isindicated at 10. This sheetmaybefed as by a pair of rolls 11, l2'to a'fcutter 13, which maybe re,-

.volved' o'n an axis .14 and cooperates with a are preferably driven from a common source of power through a suitable belt or chain 16 which passes over a pulley or sprocket wheel 17 mounted on a shaft 18. On the same shaft may be mounted a pinion 19 which meshes with a gear 20 mounted on the shaft 14 and thus driving the cutter 13. On the shaft. 18 a sprocket wheel 21 may also be mounted, this sprocket wheel being connected to a similar wheel 22 as by a suitable chain 23. The sprocket wheel 22 may be connected to drive a shaft 24 through a variable speed-reducing unit 25 which may be adjusted to any desired ratio of speed reduction within its limits. Such units may be obtained on the market and are of themselves not a part of this invention. Their purpose in this mechanism' is to enable the operator to adjust the relative speeds of the cutter 13 and of the feed rolls 11, 12 to accommodate strip shingles of different heights. The adjustment of such units during the operation of the machine is diificult so that for practical operation a further speed-changing device is necessary to facilitate the proper adjustments of the sheet feed during the operation of the machine. To this end, on the shaft 24 may be mounted a pinion 26 meshing with a series of planetary gears 27 which also mesh with a gear ring 28 provided with teeth on its inner face and another series of teeth on its outer face to mesh with a suitable worm 29 mounted on a shaft 30. The planet gears 27 are mounted on the arms 31 of a suitable spider which is carried by a shaft 32, this shaft being connected to a sprocket wheel 33 which in turn is connected as by a chain 34 to another sprocket wheel 35 by which the feed rolls 11, 12, may be driven. As the shaft 24 rotates with the pinion 26, the planet gears 27 are driven around the pinion 26 at a constant speed, the ring 28 being held stationary. The motion of the planet gears 27 causesa rotation of the shaft 32 which is transmitted to the rolls 11, 12 by the connections hereinbefore mentioned. Since the cutter 13 and the feed rolls 11 and 12 are thus operatively connected, they rotate in a definite relation one to the other. This relation may be slightly altered in either direction and to any desired degree by rotatably adjusting the gear ring 28. In this way, the sheet may be advanced or retarded as desired with respect to the cutter 13. To this end, means are provided forrotating the shaft 30 in a suitable direction to shift the sheet with reference to the cutter so as to keep the cutter timedcorrectly with reference to the slots or other pattern on the sheet. The shaft 30 may be operatively connected to a suitable electric motor 36 as by a driving chain 37 and sprocket wheels 38, 39. In order to cause the motor to operate when necessary in the correct direction, a commutator is associated with the shaft 14 and may comprise a pair of fixed plates 40, 41 which may be successively engaged by a sliding contact member 42 which is mounted to revolve with the shaft 14. The revolving contact member 42 is preferably connected by a suitable wire 43 with a contact point 44 which is positioned to cooperate with another point 45 carried by a suitable lever 46 on which is mounted a feeler or roll 47 traveling on the surface of the sheet 10 of roofing material. The roll or feeler 47 is positioned so as to drop into one of the slots 48 in each transverse series in the sheet. While for convenience the term slots is used in referring to the patternforming elements of the sheet, this term as used in the specification and claims is intended to describe and cover any indentations or depressions in the sheet which would function in a similar manner with the feeler 47. When the roll 47 is in the slot 48, the contacts 44, 45 are together. If the cutter 13 is properly synchronized with the feed of-the sheet,

the contact member 42 will be out of engagement with the plates 40 and 41 while the points 44, 45 are together. That is, as the contact arm 42 is revolved in a counter-clockwise direction as illustrated in Figure 3, it leaves the plate 41 just before the roller 47 drops" into a slot 48, closing the contact 44, 45. As the arm 42 swings around to come in contact with the plate 40, the roller 47 rises from the further end of the slot 48, opening. the contact 44, 45 just before the arm 42 reaches the plate 40. The plates 40, 41 and the contact point 45 are connected to the motor 36 in such a way that if the arm 42 is in contact with the plate 41 while the contact 44, 45 is closed, the motor is rotated in one direction, while if the arm 42 is in contact with the plate 40 and the contact 44, 45 is closed, the motor. is operated in the other direction. Since ordinarily a momentary closing of a circuit through the motor would not be of sufiicient duration to overcome the inertia of the motorrarmature, the wires from the contacts 40, 41, 45 may be connected to the motor through a relay device such as is diagrammatically indicated in Figure 3, by which a momentary closing of a circuit through the contacts 44, 45 will result'in a predetermined amount of rotationpf the motor in one direction or the other, the relay device of itself being no part of this invention.

The relay device as illustrated on the drawing is connected to supply lines 49, 50 and 52 and 53 with sliding contacts engaged therewith. When the motor 36 is at rest, the wheel 51 is normally in such a position that the switch 52 is closed and the switch 53 is open, these positions being diagrammatically indicated in Figure 3. The wheel 51 is suitably proportioned and is geared to the motor 36 in such a way that during a single revolution of the wheel, the sheet feed will be adjusted a unit distance in one direction or the other. Cooperating with the wheel 51 are a number of relays conventionally indicated in Figure 3, the coils of the relays being respectively designated as 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59. The switch-operatin armatures actuated by the various coils are indicated by corresponding reference characters, 54a, etc. These characters will also be used in the description to indicate the switches operated by the armatures. The operation of the dewoe is as follows:

Assuming the motor 36 to be at rest, the switch 52 closed, and the switch 53 open, suppose that the contact 44, 45 is made before the arm 42 leaves the plate 41, thus momentarilysclosing the circuit through the latter. Since the switch 52 is closed, this connects the feed wires 49, 50 through the relay coil 54 which being thus energized closes the switches 54a and 54b. The closing of the switch 54amaintains this circuit through the relay 54 when the contacts 41, 42 separate an instant later. The closing of the switch 54?)- energizes the relay 56, closing the switches 56a and 56b, and opening the normally closed switch 560. The closing of the switch 566 energizes the relay 58 which closes the switch 58a and causes the motor 36 to run,

thus adjusting the feed of the sheet 10 and turning the commutator wheel 51. The latter results in the closing of the switch 53 and the opening of the switch 52 a moment thereafter. When the switch 52 opens, the relay 54 is deenerg'ized and the switches 54a and 54b open. Since, however, the switches 53 and 56a have previously been closed, the relay 56 remains energized and the motor 36 continues to run. The opening of the. normally closed switch 560 prevents the possibility of energization of the relay 55 (which connects the motor for reverse operation) while the motor is running ahead under the control of the relay 56. When the wheel 51 has nearly completed a revolution, the switch 52 closes and the switch 53 opens. As the switch 54a is now open, the closing of the switch 52 does not energize the relay 54. The subsequent opening of the switch 53 breaks the circuit through the relay 56, restorin all the relays to their normal positions as s own in Figure 3 and shutting off the current-to the motor 36. In like manner, ifthe contacts 44, 45 are still together when the arm 42.reaches the plate 40, a momentary connection is made through the relay 55, thus closing the switches 55a and 55b. The latter energizes the relay 57 which in turn energizes the relay 59a and starts the motorv in reverse direction. The

cooperation of the relays 55, 57 59 with the commutator 51 for reverse operation of the motor 36 is similar to that described for the forward operation of the motor.

It is thus apparent that if the sheet of roofing should begin to expand longitudinally during the steps of treatment, the distances between successive series of slots 48 would be slightly greater than normal, consequently there would be a tendency of the slots to lag. This would result in the roller 47 being late in entering and leaving the slots. Such lateness would result in the arm 42 reaching the plate 40 before the contact 44, 45 was broken and thus energizing the motor 36 in a suitable direction to turn the shaft 30 and the ring gear 28 in such a way as to advance the sheet with reference to the cutter a suitable amount to brin the cuts on the proper lines. Conversely, a s rinkage of the sheet would shorten the distances between successive series of slots and would thus cause the roller .to fall into the slots 48 and close the contact 44, 45 before the arm 42 left the plate 41. Hence the motor 36 would be operated a predetermined amount through the relay system 49 to retard the sheet and bring the cuts on the correct lines.

Instead of regulating the feed of the sheet to conform to a uniformly rotating cutter, the speed 'of the sheet may be kept constant and the cutter 13 adjusted. To this end, apparatus may be arranged as shown in Fig ure 5, the parts of the apparatus and the func- ,tion of it being the same as for the adjustment of the feed, the motor36 in this case being employed to vary the angular position of the cutter 13 with respect to the advancing sheet and. by advancing or retarding such angular position to maintain the cuts on the proper lines.

Having thus described certain embodi- 'ments of my invention, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made therein without departing from its spirit or scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim 1. Mechanism of the class described, comprising means for feeding a sheet having arecurrent pattern thereon, means for successively cutting off pieces from the end of the fed sheet, the cuts having a predetermined relation to the recurrent pattern, common means for driving said feeding and cutting means, and means for regulating the feed of the sheet to maintain said relation be tween the cuts on the sheet and'the pattern, said regulating means comprising an electric commutator driven in synchronism with said cutter, a make-and-break device in series with said commutator intermittently actuated by the pattern on the sheet, means operatively connecting the feeding means with the driving means and adjustable to advance and retard the feeding means with respect to the driving means during the operation of the v 'necting sai slots,

prising means mechanism, means for adjusting said connecting means, an electric motor for actuating sa1d adjusting means, and means electrically connected to said motor, to said makecausing the motor to effect a predetermined amount of adjustment of the feeding of the sheet relative to the operation of the cutter when a circuit is closed through said makeand-break device and said commutator.

2. Mechanism of the class described, comprising rolls for feedin a sheet having a recurrent pattern inclu ing a row of slots therein alined longitudinally of the sheet and substantially uniformly spaced, means for cutting the sheet successively with cuts having a uniform relation to the successive slots, common driving means for said feed rolls and cutter, and means for automatically compensating for slight variations in the spacing between succcessive slots and thereby maintaining the uniform relation between the cuts and said automatic means comprising a feeler mounted to engage the sheet and to enter'the successive slots, a commutator op-r eratively connected with said cutter and normally synchronized with the feeling inotion of said feeler, an adjustable driving connection between said driving means and said feed rolls, and means automatically actuable upon a variation of the relation between the feeling motion and the cutting motion to adjust said driving connection in a direction to restore the normal synchronism of the feeler and cutter.

3. Mechanism of the class described comprising means for feeding a continuous sheet having a recurring pattern thereon, means for cutting successive pieces from the end of said sheet by cuts having a special relation to said pattern, common means for driving said feeding and cutting means, means for ad- Y justing the operative relation between said feeding means andcutting means, and means for automatically controlling said adjustment, said controlling means including an electric circuit containin a pair of makeand-break devices and a eeler responsive to said pattern toactuate one of said devices,

" tlj e other said device being actuated by said means.

vice comprising means for automatically varying the relation of the feeding and cutting means for adjusting the pattern on the moving sheet .with reference to said cutting means. and-break device and to saidocommutator for In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

EDWIN S. PETERSEN.

"4'. I echanism of the class described comfor feeding a continuous sheet having arecurring pattern thereon, means for cutting successive pieces from the end of said sheet, driving m'eans operatrvely conwith each 0 er and with a common source of power, and a variable speed transmission device and a synchronizing device interposed in said driving means between said feeding means and said cutting means, said transmission device being adjustable to any speed ra-. tio within its range, said synchronizing deeeding means and cutting means 

